- Luke Sayers resigned from job with Carlton in January
The glamorous woman who had dinner with ex-Carlton president Luke Sayers shortly after his infamous lewd photo scandal has been revealed as one of Australia’s top interior designers – and she’s reportedly still working for the high-flying executive.
Sarah Townson, the director of the acclaimed Anthology architecture and interior design company, was spotted having a meal with Sayers in April, as it was revealed that his wife had left him after his ‘d*** pic’ scandal in January.
Sayers quit his post with the Blues effective immediately on January 22, with the announcement coming just minutes after the AFL Integrity Unit found he was not responsible for the sending of the sexual image.
He was pictured having a meal with Townson at Melbourne’s Geppetto Trattoria restaurant, with the pair pictured and filmed smiling as they clinked wine glasses at the eatery.
Townson is currently doing interior decorating work at the headquarters of Sayers’ consulting company, Tenet Advisory and Investments, and his property in Melbourne’s inner city, according to News Corp.
Sayers’ wife Cate, the mother of his four children, is currently living at her property in Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula, the publication reported.
Top interior designer Sarah Townson (pictured) has been revealed as the woman who dined with former Carlton president Luke Sayers in the wake of his lewd photo scandal
Sayers (pictured) quit his role with the Blues on January 22
Townson (pictured) is reportedly working on the headquarters of Sayers’ business as well as his property in inner-city Melbourne
Townson – who was previously with Plus Architecture – has been nominated for awards and has worked on hotel developments.
The Daily Mail does not suggest she is or was in a romantic relationship with Sayers.
The former Blues president stepped down from his beloved club after an image of a mystery man’s penis was posted from his X account, with the account of a top female management figure with a company linked to Carlton tagged in, at 5.41pm on January 9.
The public post was directed at the executive’s social media account, although the mother-of-two does not appear to have used X since 2017 and does not follow Mr Sayers on the platform.
Sayers noticed the development after the photo had been online for 12 minutes, at which point he hastily deleted the image and apologised to his followers, stating he had been targeted by cyber criminals.
‘Sorry, my account has been hacked – please ignore all posts,’ he wrote.
The married father-of-four’s account, which had more than 7,300 followers, was deleted but the post had already been reposted and screen-grabbed by other X users.
He told Daily Mail Australia he was ‘outraged’ by the hacking when the news first broke.
Sayers is pictured with his wife Cate at last year’s Brownlow Medal ceremony. She has reportedly left him
The high-flying executive (pictured with Carlton star Patrick Cripps) was cleared of any wrongdoing by the AFL Integrity Unit
‘This is outrageous. I’m investigating and will leave no stone unturned finding out who did this to me and my family,’ he said.
Sayers had been with the club for 12 years before stepping down.
The AFL and Carlton later said his account was compromised and no further investigation would take place.
The fallout from the scandal didn’t stop there, with a club sponsor pulling out of an event that was run by Carlton and Sayers also stepping back from another post.
It emerged that Bupa cancelled its naming rights arrangement for the team’s Run for Respect charity event on February 2.
However, a company spokesperson confirmed Bupa will continue its relationship with Carlton, adding, ‘Bupa continues to prioritise the wellbeing, privacy and safety of our employee.’
In addition to quitting as Blues president, Sayers also announced he would step back as chairman of his consulting company, Sayers Group.
The Daily Mail has contacted Sayers and Townson for comment.
